Looks like you had some fun with your new oven. I bet you coulda pulled those pizzas out just a bit quicker. I have now used the grill quite a bit. I bet I have had it running combined for near 4 hours now and I haven't had any problems with the motor stopping or anything of the sort. I however did just install the bearing that was recommended and during the bake it started having problems or something because it started squeaking a bunch. I was scared there was maybe a problem or something. I pulled it apart this morning and it looked fine. We will see how it goes.

Jon, Bob is correct. You need to raise the metal plate so it is not sitting on the lip of the oven. That is causing undue friction. The motor is plenty strong once you raise the plate.

That was the 1st thing I did upon set-up, plenty of clearance, that also added to some of the burnt edges was the frequent stopping when I was flapping with a beer No rubbing anyplace. Pretty cheap motors, I can easily stop the motor in my hands with just my finger

jon

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“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” -Mark Twain

Weird Jon. I am not using a bearing. I lifted the stone with a 1" copper tubing. No stalling on my rotiserrie whatsoever. It was stalling before I lifted the plate though. I bet maybe your shaft isn't straight and rubbing somewhere.

Mark you are right. I thought the same after I had looked at the photo you posted again. It just seemed to fit the theory that your unit was dropped in light of the broken stone and the propane leaking from the front. Seems as though you may have gotten a lemon. It is strange that no one else has noticed their bracket warping yet.

I am starting to feel that you high heat boys are going to end up forcing a manufacturers recall...or worse.Wonder what the sales count/stats are on this 'lil unit for the Blackstone Boys?

I am starting to feel that you high heat boys are going to end up forcing a manufacturers recall...or worse.Wonder what the sales count/stats are on this 'lil unit for the Blackstone Boys?

Well then maybe they will install a stronger bracket. Win win situation. I have only done 3 high heat bakes with the burner on for over an hour each time and no warping yet....knock on wood. It doesn't make sense that Mark's bracket warped the first time. I am positve it's all the same materials.

Well then maybe they will install a stronger bracket. Win win situation. I have only done 3 high heat bakes with the burner on for over an hour each time and no warping yet....knock on wood. It doesn't make sense that Mark's bracket warped the first time. I am positve it's all the same materials.

I can't say for sure because different pics from different phones etc can be deceiving, but from my perspective it appears that the angle of attach of the burner differentiates between units and some may be pointed more toward the back(on bracket)than others.

Make no mistake; my potential recall scenario would be a very expensive pitfall for them ...all units sold within the past 1 yr. warranty period would need shipment costs for their return plus the retrofit. That probably would not happen and they would , instead, issue vouchers for a new unit pick-up at a Cabellas.

The one thing on their side is that the past years sales have not been to pizza freaks such as on this great forum. They might squeak by with only having to replace ya'll grills(a couple months down the road considering the abuse the grills are seeing that they never expected).....I'm sure that after their having seen what is going on here at PM.com...they are scrambling to place warnings/warranty void specifications on their marketing copy...They'd better be quick about it though because that recent "Demon Grill"; as Scott aptly put it, with it's flame thrown out of the temp dial could make the cost of a recall seem like a walk through the park.

This is no joke...I've reported previously on this forum that Bob has been on fire one time and it is a freakishly MAJOR big bummer man. Spray all fuel related components down heavily with a soapy water solution after your assembly with the valve/dial open....if you see any bubbles do not strike a match.

Hello, I have been following this thread for a few days now, so much that is has finally made me buy the blackstone oven and should be in next week. (If anything it is brought me to this fine group of pizza makers) Our family enjoys homemade pizza night at least once a week and i am building an outside kitchen and this thing looks perfect. I just had a few questions and comments I have researched along the path of purchasing one of these ovens.

Questions:#1 What is the best method of lifting the plate, i have read about the thrust bearing and the copper tube, what is the latest on it?#2 Anyone had issues with the motor stopping.... After reading a full of the posts and watching one of their youtube video you actual see at exactly 6:05ish in super speed they make an adjustment to the pizza in the oven and it appears to stop and then they use the pizza peel to kick start it. Check it out (Not bashing their product but just a bit concerned)#3 I am going to try to plump this into my 325 gallon tank with my grill and gas smoker was wondering if anyone has done this yet(Worried about the gas pressure at the line that is 60000 btu will require the high side pressure from tank instead of low regulated side

Comments:

I spoke to Blackstone the other day and a cover is in production for the oven and should be ready this year for sale!

Anyhow cant wait to get oven and learn more about pizza making from you guys!

KY- It's exciting you decided to get an oven. I like mine very much. To address your concerns... Firstly I don't think there is any need for an additional device to help lift the plate. I think setting the collar to the lowest position works just fine. Second, I see what you are talking about and a member also just posted that his stops. I have never had mine stop before. I wonder if it has anything to do with batteries vs AC plug? I personally have mine plugged into the wall outside. As far as your third concern, I can't answer that.

A few minutes after turning the burner on I realized I'd forgotten to turn the motor on. When I turned the motor on it ran for a few seconds then stopped. I figured my batteries died so I replaced them but once again the motor ran for a few seconds then stopped. I turned the motor off, made sure it was centered, then turned it back on and all was well.

Well friends I am now an official "Blackstoner". I received my oven via UPS this afternoon. It was in pretty good shape, although one of the square tubes into which the side table arm slides was damaged slightly in transit. I fixed it easily with a hammer and pliers. Other than that everything was intact and aligned. I was quite impressed with the build quality considering the price. You really do get a lot for your money with this oven.

Assembly was child's play. It took me about half an hour to put it together. I have spent a great deal more time assembling a scooter or other supposedly simple assembly item. The instructions were written by someone fluent in English which is a real plus. Everything fit together very nicely. No broken stones; Scott123, don't for get to add that data point into your product defect database.

I had made some dough in anticipation of receiving the oven today. I made a 70% hydration dough using Caputo 00 Pizzeria flour, 2.5% salt, and .4% cake yeast, which I fermented for six hours in bulk at room temp, then leaving the dough balls to develop for a couple of hours on the counter as well. The dough was not super easy to work with due to the hydration, but it was OK.

I have no experience using a wood fired oven or really any other oven than my trusty 550F home oven. So using this oven was a very different experience for me. It's kind of like driving a Dodge Viper after you've spent years driving a 1970 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon (complete with imitation wood grain on the sides). Hard to control but very exciting.

I started it up just fine and let it idle a bit on low to get everything burned off a bit. There was probably a bit of oil residue on some of the metallic surfaces, as there was a bit of smoke for the first few minutes. After about 10-12 minutes of heating at around half power, the temperature was up to 650 or so on the lower stone. The upper stone was much hotter, maybe around 800 and up to 900 depending where I pointed the laser on my IR thermometer. I got my first pizza ready and brought it out to the oven and cranked it up to full power for a few seconds, then launched the pie. The first pizza didn't cook quite as well as the later ones did; I assume because the heat hadn't really saturated the lower stone yet. Still, it was promising. I left the heat on higher this time while I went in and prepared the second pie. The second pizza cooked much better than the first, with better browning on the edges and underskirt. It seemed to me that they just kept improving as I left the oven to warm further while preparing more pizzas. By the time I prepared the last pizza the oven seemed to be really hot: maybe 850 on the bottom stone and 900 on top. And the last pizza seemed to come out best.

Overall, I am very happy with the Blackstone oven after one bake. It's really fun to see the pizzas bake so quickly, and I do think there is quite a bit you can do to control how the pizza cooks, between preheating temperatures and using the gas control during the bake. I should note that when you crank the oven up to high the sound of the gas is louder than I had thought it would be. My wife said it sounded like a gas clothes dryer; I would say it was a bit louder than that. Not overwhelming, but I was kind of wondering if my neighbor might stick his head out to see what all that racket was about. (He did not appear.)

I've attached a few pictures. This is the first time I've ever attempted a Neapolitan style pizza so they probably don't look all that great, but I will consider this a baseline for everyone to compare later (and hopefully better) bakes. You may note a couple of ever-vigilant pizza quality control officers in the background of one of the shots. I do also intend to enlist my daughter to shoot some video during the daytime. I tried to do video this evening but it was way too dark outside.

Thanks for the nice write-up about your experience with the oven. I had some of the same observations as you from my first time using it oh so long ago (9 days lol). I purposely read the entire thing without scrolling to see the pictures so I would be surprised to see what they looked like after reading the experience. It was hard haha. Since we live so close we should do a CA pizza summit like the others do and use our blackstones . Anyways, nice pies. Keep sharing!

d)#3 I am going to try to plump this into my 325 gallon tank with my grill and gas smoker was wondering if anyone has done this yet(Worried about the gas pressure at the line that is 60000 btu will require the high side pressure from tank instead of low regulated side

JB

60k Stoner burner does not need (high pressure).... your current grill works just fine doesn't it? That has substantial btu's and don't require high pressure...think about it man.

I am going to assume your line feed to smoker an grill is propane(if NG you got to mod the Stoner )...sounds like you're going to have a sweet set-up out back there PizzaKing! Enjoy....

Chau- This is the response to your questions you sent me. I didn't end up using any oil in this dough and used a 63% hydration. I mixed on low until the dough incorporated which took 1:20. Then I kicked it up to speed 4 (because leaving it on low just makes the dough spin on the hook) for an additional 2:30. I probably could have mixed it just a little less time. I then gave the dough a few slap and folds once I took it out. Maybe around 8. First pic is dough out of the KA, second is after the folds. If you (or anyone else for that matter) wants any more pics of the process or the finished pictures just let me know.